Chapter 3

The rain started again as I walked home from the crematorium, a cold, miserable drizzle that soaked through my thin jacket. I clutched the wooden box to my chest, its sharp corners digging into me. It was the only thing that felt real.

My path took me through SoHo. I usually avoided it, the sheer, unapologetic wealth a stark contrast to my own life. But today, I didn't have the energy to go around.

That' s when I saw him.

Ethan.

He was standing inside a high-end art gallery, the kind with a single, dramatic sculpture in a vast, white space. He wasn' t alone. A stunning woman with diamonds sparkling at her throat was clinging to his arm. Sabrina. I' d seen her in pictures on his social media, a friend from his wealthy circle he claimed to have left behind.

They were laughing.

He was pointing at a massive bronze sculpture, a twisted, abstract form that probably cost more than my entire life' s earnings. He was buying it for her.

My feet froze to the pavement. I was hidden by the shadows of the awning, a ghost watching a life that should have been mine. I crept closer to the glass, the rain plastering my hair to my face.

His voice, muffled but clear, carried through the thick window.

"They' re all the same," Ethan was saying, a smirk on his face as he gestured vaguely in the direction I' d come from. "I thought Stella was different, but the moment the baby came, the claws came out. All about the money."

Sabrina laughed, a tinkling, cruel sound. "You really thought a girl from the gutter would be any different?"

"The bet' s over, you won," Ethan said, his voice dripping with amusement. He kissed her cheek. "Pick whatever you want."

The bet.

The words hit me with the force of a physical blow.

My entire life. My love, my sacrifice, my savings, my son... it was all a game. A twisted, sick bet between two people who had so much they could afford to play with the lives of those who had nothing.

The wooden box in my hands suddenly felt impossibly heavy. I turned and stumbled away, the sounds of their laughter chasing me down the street.